Book Review: The Host by Stephenie Meyer

I have read more books than I could ever count. Since I read so much, and read so many good books, it's hard to pick 'favorites'. But The Host by Stephenie Meyer is defnitely on my list of Favorite Books.
Once again, Stephenie Meyer bombards the reader with crazy creativity. The Host is her only adult novel so far. It follows the story of a Soul named Wanderer who inhabits the human body of a woman named Melanie. Souls must have a Host Body in order to survive. Wanderer has lived on more planets and in more species than almost any other Soul, and is therefore a bit of a celebrity within her species. But as she inhabits Melanie's body, she makes some friends that should technically be her enemies.
The Host is a very well written book. It has much better character depth, development, and plot line compared to the Twilight series. Stephenie Meyer is able to change how you feel about certain characters, which in my opinion, shows fantastic writing skills. I highly recommend this book to everyone.

the attack of the ants

Due to lack of dry weather, the Mitton home has been attacked by ants. Thankfully, the Mitton's were able to retaliate quickly and have stood their ground against the horrible foe of tiny insects. The Mitton's have now switched the status quo and they are on the offensive. The ants numbers are slowly depleting. They have suffered drownings, squashings, and vacuumings. The ants are still fighting, though. Their numbers are way down, but they know when to attack and where. And sometimes when the Mitton's walk away from doing the dishes, an enemy ant will hitch a ride and travel with them until the Mitton notices and immediately kills the sneaky ant. The battle is still going, but hopefully the Mitton's will claim their victory soon.

Love Like Crazy by Lee Brice

they called them crazy when they started out
said 17 to young to know what loves about
they've been together 58 years now
thats crazy

he brought home 67 bucks a week
bought a little two bedroom house on maple street
where she blessed him with 6 more mouths to feed
thats crazy
just ask him how he did it
he'll say pull up a seat
it'll only take a minute to tell you everything

be a best friend
tell the truth
over use i love you
go to work
do your best
don't out smart your common sense
never let your prayin knees get lazy
and love like crazy

they called him crazy when he quit his job
sellin' home computers - boy they'll never take off
well he sold his one man shop to microsoft
and they paid like crazy

just ask him how he made it
he'll tell you faith and sweat
and the heart of a faithful woman who never let him forget

be a best friend
tell the truth
over use i love you
go to work
do your best
don't out smart your common sense
never let your prayin knees get lazy
and love like crazy
always treat your woman like a lady
never get to old to call her baby
never let your prayin knees get lazy
and love like crazy

they called him crazy when they started out
they've been together 58 years now
ain't that crazy

Book Review: Uglies series by Scott Westerfeld

Uglies, Pretties, Specials, Extras
Those are the titles of Scott Westerfeld's New York Times best-selling series. It started out as a trilogy - all of the first three books even say "trilogy" on their covers. But then he wrote a fourth. Quick funny story about that: My dad and I were going to Border's and he says, "Do you think there's going to be another book in that Uglies series you like?" And I said, "No, Dad, it's a trilogy." Then we stepped foot into Border's and I cam face to face with a giant poster announcing Westerfeld's fourth book, Extras. Great timing. haha.
Anyways, the series takes place in the future. Humanity as we know it has be wiped out and a new way of life has appeared. Instead of having classes based on wealth, stereotypes, and beauty, everyone becomes Pretty at age 16. That's right, on your 16th birthday you go in for the Operation: they give you new skin, puff up your lips, and make you all around pretty based on the decisions of the Pretty Committee, the group of officials who decide what Pretty means and how far you can go with the operation. So basically, the series follows the story of a girl named Tally. Uglies starts about two months before Tally's 16th birthday and all she wants is to be Pretty. But her whole life gets messed with and twisted around as she learns the real secrets to being Pretty, and that sometimes, the people in charge need to have someone stand in their way.
Extras, the fourth book in the series, is written from a girl named Aya's point of view, and to her Tally is mostly a legend. But Aya goes through just as many adventures as Tally and gets to meet the legend along the way.
These books are really well written and full of amazing ideas. Westerfeld has come up with a stunningly creative story line. The whole series is hard to put down and you will have to fight the temptation to read under the covers with a flashlight at night. I highly recommend this series to anyone.

naps are a necessity...when you're 4

Last week I babysat my cousins for the whole week. The biggest thing I learned? Four year olds CANNOT miss their naps! The day he missed his nap, we had more meltdowns than I can count! Meltdown over who made the salad: "I want to make the salad!" "Do you know how to make salad?" "No." oh dear. Meltdown over playing catch. Meltdown over going through the gate. Meltdown over getting in the car. Meltdowns left and right. So word of advice: Make sure the four year old you are watching takes a nap!

From mountains to trees

Well, its over. I have officially finished my first year at BYU. I've been living in Utah for the last 10 months and the contrast between there and Oregon is so drastic! Its no greener here than normal, but it seems incredibly green compared to the browns of Utah. Driving home, the sky seemed really low because there were no mountains. That doesn't happen here though because the trees are so tall. I like being home with the fam and my home ward and Murry, but I'm missing all my BYU friends. At the end of summer term and fall semester, we weren't really saying goodbye, it was just "see you in two weeks." Now its goodbye for either a few months or two plus years. Its kind of sad - endings are never that fun. Well, hello summer and goodbye school. See you in the fall.

Book Review: Austenland by Shannon Hale

This book is one of Shannon Hale's adult novels. Austenland is about a girl named Jane who is obsessed with Mr. Darcy from Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. Jane's great Aunt pays for Jane to go to Europe to Pembrook Park - a place that is pretty much Jane Austen's world come to life. So Jane spends three weeks in this "Austenland" and discovers a lot about her self and a bit about Jane Austen. I liked this book as a novel, but as a Shannon Hale book, I was a bit disappointed. Shannon Hale has written fantastic books for a younger audience (like Princess Academy and Goose Girl). Those books are extremely cute and 100 percent clean. I am very impressed with them. Austenland, on the other hand, is written for adults, so of course there will be more to it. But I was disappointed with some of what Hale wrote because she has these other books that are so enchanting, and I felt like she sort of lowered her standards. But it was a good novel, and I thought it was a clever plot line.